Portable processor-based systems including laptop computers (laptops), also termed notebook computers, and hand held computers such as personal digital assistants (PDAs) or “smart” mobile telephones (devices integrating PDA and mobile phone functionality) are popular. Such devices are sometimes designed to trade off capability for portability, for example, a laptop computer may not include an integrated CD or DVD reader, but allow connection to one using a cable connector of an external bus, or via a docking station or a port replicator. Similarly, a laptop display is generally small in size and may be limited in brightness and resolution, but the laptop may be connected to an external display using for example a Digital Video Interface (DVI) connector, as specified in the DVI 1.0 Specification available from the Digital Display Working Group (DDWG) or Video Graphics Array (VGA) connector, well known in the art, on the laptop and a video signal cable. As is known, a docking station is a device that mechanically and electrically couples with a laptop to provide additional functionality, including, for example, additional external ports and drives for removable media. Docking stations may also be referred to as port replicators; alternatively, the term port replicator may also be used to refer to a docking station with limited functionality. Similarly a PDA or smart phone may come with no hardware keyboard, but may be connected to one using a cable connector of an external bus or a docking station designed for the PDA or smart phone.
Cable connection to external peripherals for a laptop is limited because such cables are limited in length by the physical parameters of their construction and the nature of the signals they carry, especially for cables that carry high bandwidth signals such as video or high speed data such as that specified in the Universal Serial Bus Revision 2.0 Specification (USB 2.0) available from the USB Implementers Forum or that specified in the several IEEE 1394 specifications available from the 1394 Trade Association cables (FireWire). Docking stations are often expensive because they require connectivity to a system bus of the laptop or hand held computer and may have large, multi-pin electrical connectors that are complex and use expensive precision-manufactured parts.